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Algeria 0-1 Slovenia

I had this awful dream last night. There was this enormous swarm of invisible killer bees which descended around the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, where Robert Green's attempt at the long barrier descended into farce as England threw away a 1-0 lead against the USA. What? You dreamed the same thing? Oh hang on...

09:05Commentary

Good morning, afternoon or evening depending where you are on our glorious football-loving planet. I'm Pranav Soneji and I'll be your shepherd to guide you through until Algeria v Slovenia in Polokwane at 12:30, a match which suddenly becomes a lot more significant for England fans following last night's performance in Rustenburg.

So sympathy is divided for Robert Green in Sunday's newspapers in England. The redtops tabloids are scathing ("Hand of Clod" reads the backpage of the News of the World) while the broadsheets are displaying slightly more circumspect with some backing Robert Green to recover. The West Ham keeper is confident he can bounce back: "I want to carry on playing and I want to stand up and represent my country," he said.

09:19Commentary

I was one of the thousands who missed Steven Gerrard's opening goal following a "transmission problem" in ITV's HD coverage of the opening match of Group C, causing an unruly disruption in my viewing household. ITV boss Michael Grade described the incident as "inexcusable". Anyone else get caught up in the disruption?

ContributorBBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty

From Rustenburg: "The result must be placed in context before examining the reasoning behind it. England were in a state of disappointment as opposed to despair as the team coach pulled out into the gridlocked road system late into the night."

09:30Commentary

Some breaking news - Fifa has asked officials at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium to investigate after a supporter allegedly pointed a laser pen towards various players and Diego Maradona in Argentina's 1-0 win over Nigeria on Saturday.

09:38Commentary

So now's probably a good a time as any to dissect England's performance against the USA. While Robert Green felt the effects of millions of British eyes boring into his body following his clanger, the West Ham keeper was also responsible for keeping the scores level when he parried Jozy Altidore's second-half strike on to the crossbar. Fabio Capello doesn't strike me as a particularly forgiving soul, however the Italian has a keeper quandary to contend with ahead of England's second match against Algeria at the Cape Town Stadium. So who would you want to see in goal next Friday?

09:48Commentary

However, the flip side of all of this is: did we underestimate the USA? For UK web users, here's Clint Dempsey admitting he had the Rob of the Green (I'll get me coat) with his first-half equaliser. Certainly Bob Bradley's side looked organised and were not the whipping boys predicted by many a pub pundit across the country. Centre-back Oguchi Onyewu was particularly threatening at set-pieces while Landon Donovan, possessor of one of the most American names in history, was a persistent threat with the ball at his feet.

Twitter

From Chris Bevan: "Just had to leave BBC studio while it was searched by 2 giant Alastian sniffer dogs. Hope they didn't find my stash of chocolate digestives."

606

From Simplyzola on 606: "One mistake and he is the joke of the nation? Green should remain in goal."

10:05Commentary

So plenty for Fabio Capello to ponder before Friday's game against Algeria. We know Ledley King will miss the game in Cape Town because of an abductor tear, rather than his famously dodgy knee, so who will he select alongside John Terry? Tottenham's uncapped Michael Dawson, West Ham's Matthew Upson or Liverpool's recently returned Jamie Carragher? James Milner's withdrawal from midfield was also a talking point too - will Capello lament leaving out left-footed midfielder Adam Johnson? The number of times Shaun Wright-Phillips was forced to cut back in on to his right foot on the left flank was a particular source of frustration in the Soneji viewing household.

From Simon in Derby: "We have got to back Green and get behind him. Mistakes will draw us tighter as a unit! Let Rooney do what he wants. Subduing his temper subdued his performance."

606

From The Understudy - Barred like Shakespeare on 606: "Why isn't Ashley Young in the squad? More assists and goals than Walcott, Lennon, SWP, Johnson, J Cole and any other English winger. Yet Young isn't even in the 30 let alone the 23. England need a holding midfielder, or to drop Lampard or Gerrard. Milner and King were clearly not fully fit - so why were they played?"

From holland21on 606: "In Holland we don't understand why England use Lampard and Gerrard as defensive midfield players. Use them on their strengths!!! ATTACK."

10:43Commentary

BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty was in Rustenburg last night scrutinising England's performance. Have a look at his player ratings on Phil's blog and see whether you agree with his thoughts.

SMS

From Gavin in Bedford: "Yes it's easy to blame Green but what about Heskey missing the sitter? What about all the others not capitalising on opportunities? It's easy to heap the blame on Green but England should be scoring more than 1 goal against the USA. Yes Green made a mistake but collectively as a team we did not get the three points."

10:59Commentary

So on to Sunday's three games, the first of which sees England's Group C rivals Slovenia take on Algeria in Polokwane at 12:30. I have a very good Algerian friend who is in confident mood, although I am sadly lacking a Slovenian friend to balance out his view for objective BBC reporting purposes. Anyone have a confident Slovenian friend I can borrow for about 90 minutes? Elsewhere, Serbia take on Ghana in the first match in Group D at 15:00 before Sunday's finale when the Socceroos of Australia take on three-time world champions Germany.

BBC commentator John Motson has been busy researching all three of Sunday's fixtures. You can see the fruits of his labour on his blog. Don't forget to leave your thoughts too.

11:22Commentary

So we travel to the far north of South Africa to the Limpopo Province for the first match in the brand spanking new Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, which holds about 46,000 fans. The city used to be known as Pietersburg and is not too far from the international borders of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland. Peter Mokaba was a former deputy minister in Nelson Mandela's government before he passed away in 2002.

11:31Commentary

You can find out everything you need to know about the second match in Group C in the preview tab on this page. No doubt Fabio Capello will be sat with pen and pad in hand ready to analyse every last detail of the performances of Algeria and Slovenia back at England's luxurious base at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus, although whether he will be sat in a thick white bathrobe munching on complementary biscuits remains to be seen.

SMS

From Alex in Manchester: Half-German, half-English here! I just want them to avoid each other in the next round to prevent the endless questions of who I'm going to support!"

World Cup Have Your Say

From Mohammed in Dubai on WCHYS: "If any African nation can win the World Cup, it will be Ghana. Despite the poor performance in friendlies, the Black Stars will shine in the sky of South Africa."

ContributorBBC Sport's Chris Bevan

On Twitter: "Alan Shearer's marks out of 10 for England last night: 5.5/6. His message to fans: "don't be too downhearted, England will get better."

11:47Commentary

Team news for Algeria v Slovenia: Portsmouth's Nadir Belhadj starts in defence for Algeria where he is joined by Rangers' Madjid Bougherra. Star player Karim Ziani will be their chief creative force on the left of midfield, with Belhadj's club team-mate Hassan Yebda playing in the centre. However, there is no place in the side for captain and most-capped player Yazid Mansouri, whose performances have come in for criticism in recent matches.

The scorer of the goal that secured their place in South Africa via a play-off victory over Russia, Zlatko Dedic, starts up front for Slovenia alongside Milivoje Novakovic, their top scorer in qualifying. Former West Brom favourite Robert Koren will pull the strings in midfield as the side look to register their first World Cup victory.

From Bobleponge: "In Cafe Gambetta in Oran, Algeria. Place is heaving already. Not here in my England shirt today though. Not out of fear, more out of shame for such a dismal first-half performance. All the locals think Green should be in against them!!"

ContributorBBC Radio 5 live's Jacqui Oatley

On Twitter: "All set up in Polokwane. Some Algerian fans have just run on the pitch and jumped on players. Escorted off eventually."

12:08Commentary

There's a bit of British-based interest in this match in Polokwane. Majid Bougherra (Rangers), Nadr Belhadj and Hassan Yebda (both Portsmouth) all feature for Algeria. Slovenia midfielder Robert Koren, who was was released by West Brom at the end of this season, starts in midfield while team-mate Bostjan Cesar spent a season-long loan at the Hawthornes in 2007/8.

Right, my time in the chair is up so it's over to Chris Bevan in Cape Town. Thanks for your company today.

12:15Commentary

Afternoon all. I'm Chris Bevan, I'm in Cape Town, and I'm going to take you through Algeria v Slovenia. All set? Good. We're about to find out how exactly good England's other opponents in Group C are.

12:18Commentary

I need you to get involved too, of course. Pick up your phone (Robert Green hopefully won't drop his) and text me on 81111 (UK) or +44 7786200666 (worldwide), I'm on Twitter @chrisbevan_bbc or you can always join the chat on 606.

12:20CommentarySlovenia coach Matjaz Kek:

"It is imperative to get off to a good start and while it would be unfair to talk about Algeria's weaknesses, I can say my staff and I have detected them and we are confident that we can chalk up three much needed points."

12:21CommentaryAlgeria coach Rabah Saadane, the only African coach at these finals:

"It's no problem if other teams consider us to be the weakest. I can only say that if we have any weaknesses, the spirit of our team will take us forward. Our morale is just great."

12:25Commentary

The teams are in the tunnel at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, and kick-off is just minutes away. My fact for the day - which, as I write, has just been 'stolen' by BBC commentator Simon Brotherton is that 17 of the Algeria squad were born in France. I can add that nine of them won French caps at youth level too.

ContributorBBC Sport's Alan Hansen

Following England's draw with the United States, a victor in this game would think they have a real chance of qualification from Group C, and that is beyond anyone's expectations for Algeria or Slovenia.

12:28Commentary

Right then, The anthems are done... here comes the action. Give this page a manual refresh and my name will appear at the top. Done? Good - we're ready for the off.

12:30KICK-OFF

Algeria have just got us under way.

3 minsCommentary

Algeria are passing it around nicely so far - Slovenia seem a bit more direct. The tackles are flying in too - all in all, a frenetic start, capped when Nadir Belhadj has a decent pop from a free-kick and Samir Handanovic has to tip over.

7 minsCommentary

Oof. More hefty challenges, particularly from the Algerians. No other chances yet, but it looks like referee Carlos Alberto Batres is going to be a busy man.

SMS

From Chinokoro in Zambia: "The Algerians will provide a stern test not only for Slovenia but England and the US as well. With the likes of the ’Green keeper’ in goal for England, anything can happen."

13 minsCommentary

This game is not getting any better, not yet anyway. Slovenia haven't settled at all and their start is summed up when Zlatko Dedic badly overhits an attempted through-ball to Milivoje Novakovic, who is less than impressed.

ContributorBBC Radio 5 live's Pat Nevin

"Lots of passes been overplayed - is that because of nervousness, the ball, the altitude or all three?"

ContributorBBC Radio 5 live's Alastair Yeomans

"Early team news from Ghana v Serbia (15:00 BST). Already without Essien, it looks like Ghana will miss Muntari and Appiah today. Kevin Prince Boateng to make competitive debut."

20 minsCommentary

Better from Algeria. Well, almost. Nadir Belhadj sends over a useful looking cross from deep, but it is just too long for Karim Matmour at the back post. The game might be poor but at least the crowd are having fun. Do I need to tell you which musical instrument they are playing?

22 minsCommentary

Algeria keeper Faouzi Chaouchi gets his first meaningful touches of the ball - firstly electing to punch away Valter Birsa's inswinging free-kick and then being fouled as he does the same to Andraz Kirm's set-piece from the other flank. That's the best Slovenia have managed so far, and it wasn't very good.

25 minsCommentary

I realise I might be tempting fate but England do not exactly have a lot to worry about on this evidence, do they?

29 minsCommentary

Oh dear - we're seeing our first Mexican Wave at the Peter Mokaba Stadium - never a good sign. The earliest one at this World Cup so far came in Cape Town at Uruguay v France after just 10 minutes. You might remember that was hardly a classic either... still time for this one to improve though.

ContributorBBC Radio 5 live's Pat Nevin

"We're watching a rugby game with all these balls flying to the corners!"

34 minsCommentary

Neither team is showing any purpose or composure on the ball and I'm actually reaching the stage where I'm forgetting what a chance looks like - Slovenia's Aleksandar Radosavljevic has just had the ball smashed in his face and is having treatment but that is it entertainment-wise.

35 minsCommentary

A chance!? Well it might have been. Zlatko Dedic is in space on the right-hand side of the Algerian area but his attempted cross fails to beat the first man - poor.

36 minsCommentary

That's more like it. Algeria force a couple of corners and, when the second one comes across, Rafik Halliche rises unmarked at the far post... only to see his header bounce wide. He should have done an awful lot better, to be fair.

41 minsCommentary

First a header, now a shot - I'm being spoilt now. Algeria's Karim Matmour brings the ball down on the edge of the area and let's fly, but his effort is rather rushed and it flies high and wide.

Twitter

From footballtravels: (Re 25 mins) "I think you could argue that England didn't give Algeria and Slovenia much to worry about last night?"

44 minsCommentary

Slovenia's first real effort on goal comes just before the break. Valter Birsa finds space to fire in a shot from the edge of the box and gets plenty of power behind it... but it is straight down the throat of Faouzi Chaouchi, who easily tips it over.

45 minsCommentary

Ah. Valter Birsa has another go, but this time drags his shot horribly wide from much furher out. Slovenia's lone striker Milivoje Novakovic voices his frustration, not for the first time in this game - he's not exactly seen a lot of the ball.

HALF-TIMEAlgeria 0-0 Slovenia

ContributorBBC Sport's Alan Hansen, who is 55 today

"That was awful. I shouldn't be subjected to this sort of pain on my birthday."

"When England play Algeria or Slovenia, they will have to be careful. These are the type of sides you can have a hard time against if you don't score early because they defend so much."

13:30Commentary

Just a reminder of what is coming up after this game... Jonathan Stevenson will take you through Serbia against Ghana (15:00) and Germany v Australia (19:30). By the way, a certain Zinedine Zidane (who could have played for Algeria but chose France, obviously) is in the crowd at the Peter Mokaba Stadium - am I alone in wishing he was on the pitch?

13:31Commentary

The second half has just started. Thrills and spills await us, hopefully.

49 minsCommentary

Hmmm. Slovenia seem to be a bit sharper since the restart. Maybe they are just Slo starters? Sorry, I'm in Cape Town, but I can still hear your groans.

52 minsCommentary

Algeria are looking lively too. First, Rafik Djebbour gets on the end of a useful cross in the area - but the ball spins away from him. Then, Karim Ziani tries his luck from wide out on the left - again, plenty of power on his shot but he cannot keep it down

53 minsSUBSTITUTION

A first change for Slovenia. Zlatko Dedic is replaced by Zlatan Ljubijankic, who joins Milivoje Novakovic up front as coach Matjaz Kek switches to 4-4-2.

59 minsCommentary

Algeria's turn to make a change. A striker for a striker this time. The hard-working Rafik Djebbour is off and Abdelkader Ghezzal (who has an interesting choice of haircut) comes on - and is booked seconds later for tugging Marko Suler's shirt. That's what I call an instant impact.

61 minsCommentary

A clear sight of goal for Slovenia's Andraz Kirm - something that hasn't happened very often in the first hour of this game. He starts and finishes a neat move down the left, but fires rather tamely at Faouzi Chaouchi. Disappointing.

Twitter

From Ray_Gray_84: "I'm not looking forward to England playing any of these sides. if we dont get a early goal we will struggle to beat them!!!"

69 minsCommentary

A bit of a delay while Slovenia's Aleksandar Radosavljevic gets treatment for a bang on his head. When we finally restart, Abdelkader Ghezzal gets on the end of a cross and heads narrowly over - that was Algeria's first chance for quite a while.

72 minsRED CARDAlgeria's Abdelkader Ghezzal

ContributorBBC Radio 5 live's Pat Nevin

"The referee can do nothing about that. Ghezzal has deliberately put his hand out - there are no complaints, he must go."

78 minsCommentary

Almost a complete disaster for Slovenia. Samir Handanovic passes out to Marko Suler, but the defender is not looking. Karim Ziani nips in and would be clean through, but his first touch is just too heavy and Handanovic is able to recover, just.

79 minsGOALAlgeria 0-1 Slovenia

England's Robert Green should probably watch this - it will make him feel miles better. Robert Koren lets fly with a speculative shot from about 25 yards out, which bounces before it reaches Algerian keeper Faouzi Chaouchi, but he gets it all wrong and allows it to zip past him and into the corner of the net. A dreadful error which I'm sure he will blame on the World Cup ball, or at least try to.

ContributorBBC Radio 5 live's Pat Nevin

"Faouzi Chaouchi's a complete imposter as a goalkeeper - absolutely hopeless. At no point in this game has he proved to me that he's a half-decent goalkeeper. You've got to save those - terrible, terrible mistake."

86 minsCommentary

Slovenia lost all three of their games at the 2002 World Cup - their only previous appearance at a finals - but they are about five minutes away from putting that right here. Algeria are down to 10 men and were not exactly impressive going forward when they had 11. Time is against them too.

88 minsCommentary

Ah, some of you might have noticed I got my scores mixed up just then (now corrected). Darn it - I've been waiting the whole game for a goal, and then I award it to the wrong team.

90 minsCommentary

Algeria will have four minutes of added time to try to find an equaliser and they are giving it a go. A series of balls are pumped into the box, but Slovenia survive and it looks like they will top Group C tonight.

93 minsYELLOW CARD

Slovenia's Andrej Komac goes into the book for a late lunge on Nadir Belhadj but the Algerians seem to have run out of ideas here. Their fans are still animated, it's just a pity their players haven't been the same.

FULL-TIMEAlgeria 0-1 Slovenia

ContributorBBC Sport's Alan Shearer

"I don't know what Algeria keeper Faouzi Chaouchi was doing with the Slovenia winner. He was looking down at it as it came towards him, and seemed about to catch it - but he got it horribly, horribly wrong."

14:27Commentary

Hmmm. That wasn't the greatest game was it? I make it two stinkers in this World Cup so far, with Uruguay-France probably edging this one as worst match yet. Still, Slovenia have three points to show for it and they will go into their next game against the United States as Group C leaders. England will hope Algeria play like that when they meet in Cape Town on Friday.

14:35Commentary

That's my work done, but plenty more football to come today - go and join Jonathan Stevenson now for Serbia v Ghana, followed by Australia v Germany. I can't promise you they will be better than Slovenia's win over Algeria, but I certainly hope so. Thanks for your banter and see you soon.

By Phil Dawkes

Robert Koren's late goal gave Slovenia victory over 10-man Algeria in their opening World Cup game in Polokwane to send them top of Group C.

The former West Brom midfielder's dipping 20-yard drive slipped through the grasp of Algeria keeper Faouzi Chaouchi and into the corner of the net to give the European side their first ever World Cup finals win.

The goal came only seven minutes after Desert Foxes substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal had seen red for two bookable offences as what had until then been a truly dire encounter came briefly to life.

In the 72 minutes prior to Ghezzal's dismissal, for a needless handball, two limited sides were only able to fashion a handful of chances between them, the best of which Algeria defender Rafik Halliche headed wide from a corner.

With group favourites England having drawn 1-1 with their perceived closest rivals USA yesterday, Algeria and Slovenia knew a victory here would send them top and raise their hopes of achieving an unexpected place in the last 16.

This tantalising prospect made for two anxious, edgy teams and an error-strewn encounter, characterised by the regular relinquishing of possession by both sides.

At their best Algeria are a capable outfit, as arch-rivals and qualifying play-off victims Egypt will testify, and the Desert Foxes looked arguably the sharper, aiming to exploit the pace and ability of Karim Ziani and Nader Belhadj.

The early signs were promising when Belhadj drew a good save from Slovenian keeper Samir Handanovic with a curling 25-yard free-kick in the third minute but this turned out to be the only effort on goal in the opening quarter of the match.

It was not until the 36th minute that either side fashioned anything further of meaning.

Ziani's well-taken corner was met by Halliche, who had found space amongst a crowd of players in the box, but he failed to make full contact with his header and the ball flew past the far post with Handanovic stranded.

Slovenia's only previous World Cup appearance came in Japan and South Korea in 2002, during which they failed to claim a single point and scored only twice.

Prior to Koren's decisive strike, the closest they came to adding to their tally was a 20 yard shot from Valter Birsa, which drew a fine one-handed save from Chaouchi just before half time, and an Andraz Kirm 10-yard shot from an angle early in the second half which the Algerian keeper also saved.

Algerian substitute Ghezzal's presence on the pitch was short but eventful. In 15 minutes he produced two headers, which failed to find the target, and picked up two bookings - the first for shirt pulling, the second a handball when trying to provide another header on goal - which resulted in his side playing the final 15 minutes of the match with 10 men.

Despite Slovenia's numerical disadvantage, Algeria were presented with a glorious chance to score minutes later as Handanovic's pass out to defender Marko Suler was intercepted by Ziani but his first touch was too heavy and the keeper was able to gather at his feet.

And Slovenia's next attack proved decisive as Chaouchi badly misjudged the flight of Koren's speculative, dipping effort and allowed it to pass him and find the corner of the net.

While not a good game for a neutral, it will make for heartening viewing to England and their fans who will fancy their chances of securing positive results against both these sides.

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